Car Accident Injury Doctor in West Hollywood, CA

It's estimated that every year that millions of Americans are injured in car related accidents, with that comes a host of symptoms, ranging from the mild to the severe. Everything from soft tissue damage, the well-known condition whiplash, to head injury, chest injury, internal organ damage and injury to the arms and legs have all been reported.

What Happens During a Car Accident?

Before we dive into the injuries, let's explain what happens in a car crash. When a vehicle is moving it has momentum, this momentum is a sort of stored energy. Ever take your foot off the gas when driving? You and your car keep moving forward, right? This is momentum. When a crash occurs, this stored energy is removed from both your car and your body, this violent reaction can be calculated in G-forces. It's this powerful and quick deceleration that causes harm.

At 1G (the normal everyday force of gravity on our bodies, “one gravity”) you feel normal. At 3G you feel three times as heavy, in a crash at approximately 100mph you can feel 65G, and that's 65 times your weight. 65G is the number at which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - or the NHTSA - has found to be fatal, because there is just too much pressure on the body. Below this number however, you may walk away, sometimes with a variety of injuries that can last years or decades.

Common Car Accident Injuries

Tissue damage is one of the most common injuries sustained during a car accident. This can include injury to the connective tissue, muscles, ligaments and tendons of the body. Included in tissue damage is a condition you've probably heard of, whiplash. Developing within a day of the accident whiplash has symptoms including:

Head injuries are another common injury suffered from a car accident. When the car rapidly decelerated your body remains in motion often striking objects including the steering wheel, dashboard, debris, windshield, or A-pillars of the vehicle. The deceleration can also cause what is known as subdural hematoma, intracranial bleeding.

Moving down the body, the chest is frequently injured in serious and mild crashes alike. One of the most common injuries reported is from the seatbelt. The seatbelt is the only part of the car that acts against your motion in a crash, and at 65G (65 times your weight) can leave some painful injuries. Like the head, the steering wheel can pose a problem. If you sit far forward and strike the wheel with your chest any number of injuries can result, from broken ribs to internal bleeding. The airbag can cause injury too. Intended to protect vehicle occupants from striking the steering wheel or dashboard, it can project with enough force to crack ribs or break noses. In recent events, a well-known supplier of airbags has been found manufacturing defective devices which can project shrapnel into the occupant.

Another area commonly affected by a motor vehicle accident is the appendages (arms and legs). With no set location in the vehicle arms or legs can be located almost anywhere when a crash takes place, often times hitting other objects. Knees can hit the lower part of the dashboard, arms can hit windows or even be forced outside the vehicle if the windows are broken or open. Sprains, even breaks are common.

If you or a loved one has recently suffered a motor vehicle accident and may have injuries listed here or other injuries, please seek professional medical attention.